Basketball hosts annual Coaches vs. Cancer event Wednesday, Jan. 27th

St. Louis, Mo. - Fontbonne University basketball and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) have teamed up with the American Cancer Society to become the first athletic conference at any collegiate level to select Coaches vs. Cancer as their philanthropy of choice for the 2015-16 season. Conference-wide Coaches vs. Cancer games will take place from January 26-February 3 when the Griffins are hosting Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday, January 27th.

Members of the men's basketball team will be floating the stands during the women's game and vice versa for 50/50 raffles. Each raffle will also benefit the American Cancer Society. Fontbonne's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is inviting fans together in the fight against cancer by filling up our Wall of Hope. Donations to the American Cancer Society will be accepted and SAAC is urging fans to promote their pledge on social media with the hashtags #BenchCancer and #SLIACtion, just like Gunner in the picture!

Fontbonne has participated in the #SuitsandSneakers event annually, brought to campus by the late Coach Lee McKinney's time in office. Coach McKinney, long-time athletic director and Fontbonne basketball head coach, lost his battle with cancer, but Griffin Nation continues to carry on his fight.

"It is great to see SLIAC institutions collaborate on a conference wide project like the Coaches vs. Cancer games," said SLIAC Commissioner Angie Morenz. "These are games you would typically see at each individual institution in a given year, this year this group has combined their energy to take a stand against cancer. It is exciting to work with the American Cancer Society to raise awareness and educate others about preventative measures."

Coaches vs. Cancer, founded in 1993, is a nationwide collaborative between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The upcoming Coaches vs. Cancer - Suits and Sneakers campaign encourages coaches and their staff to wear sneakers with their suits during games to raise awareness of the fight against cancer and demonstrate their support for the American Cancer Society and its mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. The initiative aims to increase cancer awareness, highlights the importance of nutrition and physical activity in reducing a person's cancer risk, and promotes the American Cancer Society's free programs and services available to those facing cancer. Since 1993, coaches have raised more than $100 million for the American Cancer Society and the fight against cancer.

Advances in prevention, early detection, and treatment have contributed to an over 20 percent drop in cancer mortality rate in the past two decades, leading to the avoidance of more than 1.5 million cancer deaths that would have occurred had previous rates persisted.

For more information and to join coaches and the SLIAC in the fight against cancer, visit coachesvscancer.org/suitsandsneakers

FULL SLIAC RELEASE